4-star edge Landon Barnes commits to Ole Miss over Ohio State, Washington
2026 Duncanville (Tex.) four-star edge Landon Barnes has committed to Ole Miss, he announced on Monday. The 6-4, 245-pounder picked the Rebels over finalists Ohio State and Washington.
“They have a great plan for me at Ole Miss,” Barnes told Rivals’ Chad Simmons. “They have recruited me hard, I see it as a perfect fit and the relationships I have with the coaches there are real.
“I felt the love from the staff. They showed great love and a lot of energy toward me. The people [at Ole Miss] really got to know me well and it showed me a lot as a recruit. I was there for a spring practice, then for an official visit and the energy was always there. They showed me that they wanted me.”
With the Lone Star State prospect committing to the Rebels, the program now sits 20th in the recruiting class rankings. Ole Miss has 10 commitments on board and Barnes is the second edge prospect, joining Carmelow Reed.
Barnes was offered by Ole Miss in February. Since that time, the Rebels surged. They got him on campus for an unofficial visit that set the stage for him to come back for an official visit in June. He also took official visits to SMU, Washington, LSU and Ohio State.
Defensive line coach Randall Joyner stood out in a big way to Barnes as he went through the process.
“I loved it, man,” Barnes told On3 of his Ole Miss visit. “They were down there showing me love, showing me how I would fit in their defensive scheme, you know, just the players and stuff, they were all welcoming. They showed me this is a good place. You can just sit here and grind for a couple years, you know, and pursue your dream into the NFL. I loved it down there.
“Coach Joyner, he’s a great coach. He’s also cool with my trainer over at Texas, they’re real cool. So when I went up there and saw the drills they were doing, it reminded me how close they are. It shows that we can connect on that level right there and he coaches with so much energy. That’s the type of coaching that I need.”
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On3 is highest out of the recruiting services on Barnes, who ranks as the No. 93 overall prospect in the country, the 15th-ranked edge and 12th-best prospect in Texas.
Discuss Landon Barnes committing to Ole Miss HERE with other Rebel fans!
According to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Barnes ranks as the No. 120 overall prospect in the country, No. 19 edge in America and No. 20 prospect in Texas.
The pickup out of the Lone Star State comes after he earned top performer honors at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge.
“Landon Barnes was one of the more physically impressive defensive prospects at Rivals Five-Star,” On3 national scout Cody Bellaire said. “His blend of size and twitch is exactly what coaches at the next level and beyond crave along the defensive front. While Barnes didn’t take as many reps as others, we didn’t see him lose a rep throughout the day. The explosion and power stood out.
“He needs to continue developing his hand usage, but has the physical and athletic traits to thrive at the next level. Barnes’ tools and moments of dominance set him apart from many of the defensive linemen at Rivals Five-Star.”
Barnes is just the first of what could be a huge run of commitments this week for Ole Miss, which is well inside the Top 25 classes nationally.
